


Awkward Conversations

by Fandaround



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Bisexuality, F/F, Girls Flirting, Lying to a federal agent, M/M, Talking about sexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandaround/pseuds/Fandaround
Summary: Duck thinks Aubrey and Dani should stop dancing around each other and date already.
Relationships: Aubrey Little & Duck Newton, Dani/Aubrey Little, Indrid Cold/Duck Newton
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Awkward Conversations

Duck had been the first one to comment on Aubrey’s frustrating inability to function in even a remote proximity of Dani.

“Relax,” Duck urged, after Aubrey had a truly cringingly awkward three-sentence conversation with Dani on their way through the lobby.

“I’m relaxed,” Aubrey shot back defensively.

Duck raised one eyebrow. “Is ‘at so?”

“Shut up.”

Duck chuckled, “Look, seein’ as how you’re gunna be livin’ at the lodge ‘n all, maybe you outta say somethun. Get it outta the way now, y’know?”

Aubrey seemed to short-circuit for a moment. “ _ Living  _ here. Right.”

Duck eyes her with a furrowed brow. “Y’  _ did  _ tell me you planned on stayin’ a while, didn’cha?”

“I-uh- _ yes _ , but…I mean, I don’t…’living’ here makes it sound so permanent,” she finally managed, uncertainty evident in the waves of her voice.

“An’...’at’s a bad thing?”

“Well... _ no _ ? I guess...I don’t really have a plan to leave at the moment.”

“Okay, so maybe ‘s’not permanent, jus’ until further notice,” Duck nodded as he said it, as if he had found the solution to all of Aubrey’s problems in those words. “So until further notice, are y’ever gunna talk ta Miss Dani about anything other’n Dr. Harris Bonkers?”

“PhD,” Aubrey corrected, a little less enthusiastic than usual. “And...uh- _ no _ . I don’t think so.”

Duck sighed heavily. “I hope you’ll reconsider.”

“Duck, what exactly makes you qualified to give dating advice, anyways? Aren’t you single?”

“I’ll have you know that I’ve had acouple’a good relationships in the past, even if I happen t’ be single at the moment.”

“Oh my god, you’re not lying!” Aubrey rounded on him excitedly. “Who is it? Somebody I know?”

“Nobody you know, sorry,” Duck told her with a shrug and a smile, which promptly turned to a frown. “Wait. You thought I been... _ what _ ‘xactly? Jus’, like, heartbreakingly lonely for my entire life or somethun? Jeezus, Aubrey, give a man a little credit. ‘M not  _ that _ bad with people.”

“No! That not what I-“

“In fact, I’ll ‘ave you know my former-uh-acquaintances were quite satisfied with my company.”

“Ohmygod-nope!!” Aubrey threw her hands up, quickening her pace to get ahead of Duck.

“Jeezus, wha’did I say?”

“I don’t want to hear about your sex life!”

“Oh, for chris’sakes, y’know I didn’ mean it like that,” Duck rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“Sorry, still not listening!” Aubrey called over her shoulder, far enough ahead and walking fast enough that Duck had to jog a couple of yards before he caught up with her, then easily overtook her.

“C’mon, Miss Little, keep up,” he grinned.

* * *

Aubrey was absolutely starving after she had spent the night chasing and fighting the abomination with Ned, Duck and Barclay. Ned has driven home, and Barclay was showing Duck to one of the empty guest rooms for the night, which left Aubrey to sit on the edge of a chair in front of the hearth, still too keyed up on adrenaline to keep from fidgeting.

“Aubrey,” Dani’s voice carried through the lobby as she came to stand at the edge of the firelight. “Are you alright?”

She turned to answer, and found Dani in a long robe and slippers, her hair tossed atop her head in a messy bun and amber eyes gauging her state with concern. Aubrey forced herself to still her bouncing knee and tried not to stare. “Uh-h-hey, Dani.”

“Hey,” she replied a little more gently, stepping forward. “Did something happen?”

“I-Uh...no,” Aubrey answered quietly, remembering that there was a federal agent just upstairs. “Everything’s good now,” she said instead.

“Oh,” Dani breathed in understanding. “You’ve had a long night, huh?”

Aubrey sighed. “The  _ longest _ .”

Dani pressed her lips together nervously. “Can I...get you a hot cocoa or something?”

“That’s okay,” Aubrey declined. “I-uh…” she hesitated. “Do you wanna just…?”

Dani seemed to understand the question, even if Aubrey didn’t seem to be able to finish asking it, and took a seat at the adjacent chair. “I’ll stay here with you as long as you can stand me,” Dani promised. They talked for a bit, just small talk, and eventually they both fell asleep where they sat.

  
  
  


Dani and Aubrey woke in the morning with their feet still tangled together on the ottoman, each slumped in their respective chairs. Barclay shook them awake and was frowning down at them, hand on his hip.

“Good morning?” He arched an eyebrow.

“G’morning,” Aubrey yawned.

“Why do you even have rooms if you’re gonna sleep in the lobby?” He sighed.

They shrugged, and Barclay shook his head. “Other people are starting to wake up. You two might want to think about either getting breakfast or moving to a bed.”

“Breakfast sounds good,” Aubrey blinked, tamping down the image that ‘a’ bed for the two of them conjured in her mind.

Barclay retreated to the kitchen, leaving them to stretch and make their way to the table where only one other person was already awake.

“Good morning, Agent,” Barclay greeted as he bumped the kitchen door open with his hip and brought out two platters of fruit and croissants.

“Good morning,” Stern returned with a polite mod.

“Thanks, Barclay,” Aubrey smiled, grabbing a flaky croissant.

“You’re welcome. Eggs and bacon are coming out next. And Agent, I’ll get your oatmeal started.”

“Thanks,” Stern smiled, and sipped his tea as he watched Barclay slip back into the kitchen. It was only a few moments later that he furrowed his brows, watching the across the lobby instead. “Is that Duck Newton?”

Aubrey craned her head around to where Duck was pulling the door to his room closed.

“Yep,” she said neutrally, unable to think of any good reason why he would stay at the lodge when he lived such a short distance away.

“Why…” Stern frowned and stood up. Aubrey watched in horror as he approached Duck, who instantly reeled back, frozen. “Good morning, Ranger.”

“Uh-g’mornin’, Agent.”

“I’m sorry to pry, but I must ask:  _ why _ would you rent a room here when you live so close? Don’t you have an apartment just in town?”

“Uh-well, y’see I _ do  _ got a place in town, that’s right, but uh…”

Aubrey nearly stood up, desperate to help Duck flounder his way out of whatever lie he was about to attempt, but before she moved from the chair, the door behind Duck opened again.

“Oh! Well...hello,” Indrid glanced between Duck and Stern carefully. “Is...something wrong?” He asked, sliding a hand to the small of Duck’s back.

“Ah-just this agent was uh-wond’rin’ why I got a room las’ night,” Duck said truthfully, but his face was still steaming hot. “Y’know, since I love so close an’ all.”

“Ah-I’m...not sure that’s any more his business than it is your neighbors’ business,” Indrid frowned. “Let’s get some breakfast, dear,” he added, and sidestepped Stern as he steered Duck toward the table with the hand on his back. 

“Oh,” Stern stared after them with a look of surprise for a few moments, then cleared his throat. “My apologies,” he offered quietly.

“Quite alright,” Indrid brushed off cooly. They slid into seats at the table, and Aubrey just barely managed to keep a straight face as Stern returned to have his breakfast, which Barclay placed right between Dani and Duck.

“Thanks for breakfast,” Stern told him sincerely.

Barclay acknowledged him with a nod and a tight smile.

“Ah-I was thinking maybe we could go for a walk today?” Indrid asked Duck quietly, but loud enough for Stern to overhear. “I’ll grab lunch to-go and we can do a picnic.”

“Sounds real romantic,” Duck grinned.

“Is that a ‘yes’, then?” Indrid pushed.

“Yeah, sure,” Duck flushed, and shoved a croissant in his face so that he couldn’t answer any more questions from either Stern or Indrid. 

“A walk sounds nice,” Dani said gently. “I bet Dr Harris Bonkers would appreciate a walk, an’ it might help us wake up a bit.” she suggested.

Aubrey caught her eye and smiled. “That sounds like a great idea. I’ll pack us some sandwiches.”

Dani beamed.

* * *

“So how was your walk yesterday?” Aubrey asked, sliding into the booth in front of Duck at the Wolf Ember Grill.

“Y’know, it was nice, Aubrey. How was  _ your _ little stroll?”

Aubrey eyed Duck carefully, but it was clear that he wasn’t lying. He actually  _ had  _ had a nice time with Indrid. “Oh, I had fun. Dani has been so good with Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD and did you know she’s never even had a pet before?”

They were interrupted by the waiter coming up to get them coffee and take their orders, but Aubrey couldn’t help but ask more. “So, how  _ did _ Indrid end up in your room last night?”

“Through the window,” he answered, then glanced around conspicuously before he lowered his voice. “Apparen’ly he saw what was gunna happen an’ rushed out to help. I didn’ even know he was there until he came out to talk to the Agent.”

“Huh,” Aubrey huffed, emptying six sugar packets into her coffee and giving it a test. “That’s boring.”

“Wha’dija want? A story?”

“ _Juicy_ _gossip_ ,” Aubrey told him, as she ripped two more sugars open.

“Not gunna hear much’a that from me, sorry.” Duck smiled wryly.

“But you  _ did  _ have a nice lunch date yesterday,” she pressed.

“I did,” Duck nodded, going just a little red. “ _ Not _ uh-not to say that it was a romantic date, a’course but  _ I _ think we both had a nice, totally an’ completely platonic-uh-“

“Holy shit, Duck!”

“Jeezus,” Duck glanced around again, a little more covertly this time. “Will you jus’ keep this under your hat?”

“That you went on a date with the-“

“ _ Aubrey _ ,” Duck cut her off sharply, reminding her where they were and simultaneously earning them a few looks. They both stirred their coffees and kept quiet for a few moments until the other diners around them stopped paying attention. “Look, I don’t think  _ he _ considered it a date, okay?”

Aubrey blinked, then furrowed her brows. “Duck, are you gay?”

“I-uh…” Duck floundered for a moment, not in the usual way that indicated he was lying, but rather in search of the right words. Finally he got out, “‘M not gay. An’...I guess I ain’t straight either...I-I jus’ don’t think it matters.”

“Am I... _ not _ the only bisexual person in Kepler?”

Duck’s frown deepened. “Well, I’ve never put a word to it, to tell ya the truth.”

“Oh?” she softened.

“It’s just...this is a small town an’ words like that make some people  _ uncomfortable _ , y’know? They’re mostly fine with you livin’ your life the way y’wanna live it an’ all. They don’t even care that those two ‘funny’ guys live together but you start givin’ it a name an’  _ that's  _ when things get t’ be too much for people; that when people you known for years, they start gettin’ what they actually know about’cha jumbled up with what they  _ think _ the words ‘bisexual’ or ‘queer’ mean. ‘S better jus’ not to go givin’ people wrong ideas with them kinda labels.”

“Duck?”

“Yeah, Aubrey?” Duck finally met her eyes over a sip of coffee.

“Who  _ hurt  _ you?”

He chuckled wryly, “‘S jus’ the way I see it. Maybe it ain’t that way everywhere, but…” he shrugged, and the conversation was cut short as two bowls of French onion soup were deposited in front of them. “Hells yeah, c’mon, this stuff is just freakin’ amazin’.”

Aubrey’s face grew into a grin as they dug in.


End file.
